What do I want to stock in my tank?

[Drummer230]

I have a moderately planted 20 long. If you saw my other post, I had a tank of guppies that were wiped out by Ich. I’m down to four male guppies, some cherry shrimp, and a mystery snail. While I’m treating the ich, I’m planning/researching what I want to put back in the tank. First off, I want the most colorful fish possible. I love guppies, but I want fancy guppies (cobra, leopard, lace, etc...) which are really hard to find around here, and I don’t want females, which makes it hard to buy online since they are typically sold in trios. I was reading about German rams, but they are not shrimp safe, and neither are bettas. My lfs is mostly saltwater and has very few freshwater offerings, so I’ll probably have to buy online unless I go with guppies again. I don’t really want tetras or need to deal with fry, as I’d have no options to deal with them. Any suggestions or pictures of what you’ve done? I’ve already watched corys 20gallon idea video, but nothing really appealed to me, but I have trouble kind of visualizing it also. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Drummer230
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[FrozenFins]

The cherry shrimp really limit you on what you can put in that tank.

Some bettas can be kept with shrimp but it depends. And you would probably want to make sure the betta you got is shrimp safe before you woke up and all the shrimp were gone.

Some cool fish to keep that are shrimp safe

-Mollies and Platys (only get either male and female, not both. they will breed like crazy)

-Most smaller tetras are shrimp safe

-Kuhli Loaches are cool, just beware that they are noctournal so you will really only see them at night. And they won't come out the first month of purchase

-Celestrial Pearl Danios

If you decide to take your shrimp out here is a list of good fish

-Angelfish, great persanlity and aboslutley gourgeous

-German Blue Rams (keep warm though at least 81F)

-any Betta

-Honey Gourami (other gouramis are super aggressive and will be fin nippers)

-Albino Bristlenose Pleco

Do you have any other fish stores in your city/ state/ province?? The others may be carrying the fish that you want.

[Drummer230]

4 minutes ago, James Black said:

The cherry shrimp really limit you on what you can put in that tank.

Some bettas can be kept with shrimp but it depends. And you would probably want to make sure the betta you got is shrimp safe before you woke up and all the shrimp were gone.

Some cool fish to keep that are shrimp safe

-Mollies and Platys (only get either male and female, not both. they will breed like crazy)

-Most smaller tetras are shrimp safe

-Kuhli Loaches are cool, just beware that they are noctournal so you will really only see them at night. And they won't come out the first month of purchase

-Celestrial Pearl Danios

If you decide to take your shrimp out here is a list of good fish

-Angelfish, great persanlity and aboslutley gourgeous

-German Blue Rams (keep warm though at least 81F)

-any Betta

-Honey Gourami (other gouramis are super aggressive and will be fin nippers)

-Albino Bristlenose Pleco

Do you have any other fish stores in your city/ state/ province?? The others may be carrying the fish that you want.

I have an empty 5 gallon that I might turn into a heavily planted shrimp tank and that will free me up here a bit. The next closest store is literally over an hour away, but if they have whatever I decide on, I will purchase there. I was interested in angelfish to start with, but I was under the impression that they need a larger tank than 20gallons?

[FrozenFins]

2 hours ago, Drummer230 said:

I have an empty 5 gallon that I might turn into a heavily planted shrimp tank and that will free me up here a bit. The next closest store is literally over an hour away, but if they have whatever I decide on, I will purchase there. I was interested in angelfish to start with, but I was under the impression that they need a larger tank than 20gallons?

one angelfish in a 20 gallon should be fine. 

[Jdogtrainer]

I suggest several pea puffers with a few guppy dithers.

[JettsPapa]

I have a 20 long with celestial pearl danios, kubotai rasboras, dwarf emerald rasboras, sparkling gouramis, and pygmy corys.  I'm not saying to get all those, because if I was doing it again I'd probably skip both kinds of rasboras, but it might give you some ideas.

The sparkling gouramis are especially entertaining to watch, but if you do get some I'd suggest getting at least 8 (I think I have 10) to spread out aggression, and also give them places to hide.

There are also quite a few shrimp in the tank.  I never see babies or juveniles, but there's a large mass of java moss in the back, so I assume the shrimp stay in there until they get larger.

[Hobbit]

Honey gouramis should be okay with shrimp. They may eat baby shrimp but it looks like you have plenty of hiding places for the babies to hang out until they’re bigger. It’s a beautiful tank!

I’m not sure two honeys would give you the kind of color you want though. They’re beautiful but small, and just two may not give you the dramatic color you’re going for. And they will breed and produce fry—but as soon as the fry are free-swimming the mom will eat them all. 😅

I love everyone else’s ideas! 

[ChefConfit]

@Drummer230 I wouldn't do an angel in a 20 long. 1 angel in a regular 20 is doable but a long is not tall enough. Why not do a pair or trio of guppys? If you don't want to deal with the fry they will control their population themselves. Plus if fancy guppies are hard to find in your area then you should be able to sell them fairly easily in the future if you change your mind about dealing with fry. 

Personally I would plant heavily, then let the shrimp get really well established. Then add 5 corys, 5 otos and finally a trio of guppies. Most people would say 6 for the corys and otos but odd numbers look better. 

If you keep your water clean and parameters stable all those fish may breed for you which is really cool (the otos are the hardest of those to breed), but the adult guppys and corys should keep the populations in check so you don't need to worry about pulling fry to keep it from overcrowding. 

[Drummer230]

On 12/10/2020 at 12:23 PM, ChefConfit said:

@Drummer230 I wouldn't do an angel in a 20 long. 1 angel in a regular 20 is doable but a long is not tall enough. Why not do a pair or trio of guppys? If you don't want to deal with the fry they will control their population themselves. Plus if fancy guppies are hard to find in your area then you should be able to sell them fairly easily in the future if you change your mind about dealing with fry. 

Personally I would plant heavily, then let the shrimp get really well established. Then add 5 corys, 5 otos and finally a trio of guppies. Most people would say 6 for the corys and otos but odd numbers look better. 

If you keep your water clean and parameters stable all those fish may breed for you which is really cool (the otos are the hardest of those to breed), but the adult guppys and corys should keep the populations in check so you don't need to worry about pulling fry to keep it from overcrowding. 

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I think I’m going to give guppies one more shot. They are pretty much everything I want minus the weakness when you first purchase them. 

[ChefConfit]

I think you'll be happy with them. Are you gonna do a single strain or mutt guppies? 

[Brandy]

Hurrah for the guppies!! Dooo eeeet! I have to say I have just gotten to the point that my first generation has afforded me a few beautiful choices for replacement stock, and the feeling of "progress" is a heady thing. I LOVE my guppies.

In another tank I have a beautiful display of an angelfish, german blue rams and tetras--It is a beautiful tank, but the guppies are so much more interactive. The only fish in my big tank that even notices I exist is the angelfish. It is more like a painting, and doesn't feel as much like "pets"!

[Bern cave]

Honey Gourami aren't that shrimp safe, but if you give them a rock pile or some kind of shrimp nursery they should be fine. I love my honey gourami! They are pretty smart and will come greet you most times you walk up to the tank. GL on your guppies though! I want some of Cory's venetian line. 

[Drummer230]

Sorry, for the long absence! Life has been rough lately. Got in a car accident and then family has been sick...I think everything seems to be getting better now though.

Well, as far as the Aquarium goes, I treated completely for ich, bought 10 new male guppies, did the quarantine medication trio, and only two are still alive. I’m just so frustrated at this point. I don’t know if it’s stock that I’m buying from my lfs or me.  I’m tempted to get two females and a male and let them hopefully have a generation born in my tank, but I’m also tired of throwing money at it now. For what it’s worth, the red cherry shrimp population is exploding, so at least I’m not killing those yet lol!

[ChefConfit]

Sorry for the rough time you and your family are experiencing, but glad to hear things are getting better!

How are you doing the quarantine? In a separate tank or in the main tank? Are you feeding during quarantine? If in a separate tank is it fully cycled? What are your water parameters? How do you acclimate them? 

Guppies are usually pretty hardy so unless something is glaringly wrong in the answers to those questions I'd be tempted to say try a different source.

If you're not drip acclimating them it's possible they're experiencing shock from a drastic change in parameters, but I can't imagine a local store has parameters that are that different from yours. Ask your LFS about their water and how they treat it to see if there's any huge difference between theirs and yours. 

[Drummer230]

4 hours ago, ChefConfit said:

Sorry for the rough time you and your family are experiencing, but glad to hear things are getting better!

How are you doing the quarantine? In a separate tank or in the main tank? Are you feeding during quarantine? If in a separate tank is it fully cycled? What are your water parameters? How do you acclimate them? 

Guppies are usually pretty hardy so unless something is glaringly wrong in the answers to those questions I'd be tempted to say try a different source.

If you're not drip acclimating them it's possible they're experiencing shock from a drastic change in parameters, but I can't imagine a local store has parameters that are that different from yours. Ask your LFS about their water and how they treat it to see if there's any huge difference between theirs and yours. 

I’m quarantining and medicating in the main tank since they are the only fish in there. I’m not feeding during the quarantine period, as I’m following corys advice of waiting 7 days. I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0 nitrates. I’m pretty sure my tank is fully cycled because I had a fish die and I didn’t notice him behind the rocks, but he was pretty decayed and I still had 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrites, but my nitrates were at 10ppm, so I did a 20% water change. I have been constant at 0 ammonia and nitrites though. I even took samples to the lfs to confirm a few times. 

 My process of acclimation may be the problem. I let the bag sit in the tank for an hour or so to match temperatures and then drop them in. I wonder if the lfs uses salt in their tank. It’s worth asking I guess. I’ve got two guppies left out of about 30 over the last two months. Frustrated!
 

I’ve never had these problems with bettas or tetras. Might be time to go back to that. 

[ChefConfit]

The salt is a possibility, but honestly I'm stumped. Hopefully someone else has some insight. 

[Colu]

 You should dip acclimate your new fish it less stressful on them

[Brandy]

2 hours ago, Drummer230 said:

 My process of acclimation may be the problem. I let the bag sit in the tank for an hour or so to match temperatures and then drop them in. I wonder if the lfs uses salt in their tank. It’s worth asking I guess. I’ve got two guppies left out of about 30 over the last two months. Frustrated!
 

I’ve never had these problems with bettas or tetras. Might be time to go back to that. 

Can you compare your pH GH and KH to the water in the bag/at the LFS? I also would more likely expect this to be a source issue. Mutt guppies are so tough I have had tanks experience a nitrite spike (and presumably an ammonia spike I missed) and not lost a one or even noticed odd behavior. If your pH is dramatically different that could be a problem though. Inbred strains may be more fragile, but mutt guppies are generally pretty tolerant.

[Drummer230]

1 hour ago, Brandy said:

Can you compare your pH GH and KH to the water in the bag/at the LFS? I also would more likely expect this to be a source issue. Mutt guppies are so tough I have had tanks experience a nitrite spike (and presumably an ammonia spike I missed) and not lost a one or even noticed odd behavior. If your pH is dramatically different that could be a problem though. Inbred strains may be more fragile, but mutt guppies are generally pretty tolerant.

I will have to test them and see what happens. I’ll report back. My ph is about 7.6 and my water is super hard. The lfs is an hour away, so who knows. 

[Brandy]

That seems well within the guppy happy zone. I am the opposite, have to add argonite to get some buffer into my very soft 6.6pH tap water. Tank pH is around 7.6 tho. If you are on a well, and they are on municipal water, I know it can be very different. Good luck! If it isn't dramatic, I would start thinking about another source.